Evolving Design Innovation

07 Jul 2005|Added Value

I was recently introduced to a new blog on Design and Innovation – CPH127. As we at Cheskin address design and innovation challenges for our clients regularly, it’s clear that these fields, if we can even use that term, are increasingly fluid and evolving.

Ask just about anyone now to define “design” and you’ll get as many answers as people you ask. Innovation is not far from that as well. The guys at CPH127 underscore this just by their very nature… “Our team consists designers, MBAs, dot-com entreprenours and all the other folks you would never expect to be on this kind of blog.”

I was especially fond of a recent post by Ian McArthur on new skillsets for designers.

He notes, “Synchronization and organization of parallel processing of complex, unstructured problems is becoming increasingly sought after by business, inevitably requiring solutions and innovation from multi-disciplinary teams.” Design thinking is clearly needed now more than ever, and traditional forms of design strategy and other design disciplines must evolve.

We’re clearly seeing this at Cheskin where engagements might require the collaboration of design strategy, brand design thinking and information design, for instance, combined in new ways and in collaboration with marketing and business consulting skills.

It’s a very exciting time for Design, and I think promises to be extraodinarily fruitful for businesses who embrace this new thinking.